Dexter the cat was reunited with his human Dianne Walters after 7 months apart. Dexter escaped in Pritchard B.C. while Diane and her family were evacuated and was only found on Sunday. Gail Robinson photo.

Evacuated cat finds his way home seven months after B.C. wildfires

That’s why they drove more than 600 kilometres in a snowstorm to deliver Dexter the cat to his home in Williams Lake on Wednesday.

The two are from Pritchard, a small community outside Kamloops, and their story, and Dexter’s, is one you can’t help but feel good about.

The story starts last July, as two cars stuffed with six adults, seven cats, two dogs, one rabbit and all the personal belongings that could fit, evacuated from Williams Lake at the height of the wildfires.

One car belonged to Diane Walters, Dexter’s owner, and the vehicles included relatives and a friend.

The group landed in Pritchard where Brian and Violet Hall, complete strangers, welcomed the group and set them up with a beautiful fifth wheel, litter boxes, accommodation for those who needed it and even a hutch for the rabbit.

“They said they’d take the critters and the people that you need,” says Diane.

Within an hour, they had located Diane’s family’s original posting and were in touch with a family member.

From there, Diane was only a phone call away, and Dexter a short trip to the vet to check his chip, before they confirmed the two belonged together.

“When I saw the picture, I had no doubt,” says Diane, noting her dog probably missed Dexter the most.

Two days later, Diane and Dexter were reunited, as Mary and Gail refused all offers to pick Dexter up and made the trip to Williams Lake themselves.

While a tad shy, (likely because of all the attention he was getting) it was obvious Dexter was happy to be reunited with his human.

“The fire department comes to the rescue again!” says Mary with a laugh, admitting, alongside Gail, they were remarkably touched driving to the Cariboo and seeing the welcome home signs that are still in place along local roads.

“He just decided he was going on a holiday — an extended holiday,” says Diane.

She says she had worried when the winter hit that Dexter wouldn’t make it home, particularly in a location heavy with coyotes, but the cat seems to have become an expert mouser.

He’s settling in now, says Diane, and he’s relaxing in the only place he can escape from the dog, who is “so excited to see him she won’t leave him be.”